 So, as I said, we're going to be looking at these two topics, Jihad. Now last time, I wanted to conclude with looking at Jihad, but we ran out of time. So I have an announcement to make. What I'd like to do is go one more week. So I don't know if any of you, if all of you can do that. I have no problem with that. So we're going to add another week because of this issue here and some of the things that I want to tackle, it's not sufficient the amount of time. So we're going to, this whole course will be seven weeks, okay? So I really just don't want to rush through things. I would rather, you know, look at them and be able to explain them and perhaps even have questions and answers. And as I said to you before, any questions, write them down, write them down. And if we either, we get to them at the end of the class or you can also just give it to me and I can answer you later or send me an email or whatever, okay? So we're going to look at this today. And then we're also going to look at after Jihad, we're going to look at is answering Islamic objections. This is one of the most vital, most important things. This is where we're really going to start getting into apologetics because as a Christian, not only with a Muslim, but with anybody, I should be able to know what I believe and why I believe it. And I should be able to explain my faith because God has called us to know and to believe, okay? So we're going to look at those things. It's really exciting. Now we're all very familiar with Jihad, okay? This is holy war in Islam. But before we look at that, I would like to look at what we as Christians know and what the Bible teaches us, okay? As Christians following the word of God, what did Jesus teach? And what does the New Testament teach? Okay? I find this very interesting because especially when you are in a discussion with a Muslim, or you're going to be hearing if you go on YouTube and you go on the Internet and online and you see all sorts of things that people will say. A lot of Muslims, of course, the most popular thing that Muslims will say is, well, no, Islam is a religion of peace. It never teaches to kill and to fight. And on and on and on they go and we've all heard it. But first of all, before we go to Jihad, let's look at what do I believe and what does the Bible teach me, number one? And what does Jesus, who is the commander in chief of our faith, teach us? Because when all is said and done, guys, it comes down to two people. It comes down to Jesus Christ and it comes down to Muhammad. And that's really in a nutshell what I want you to know. Because there are so many things to get you distracted at this and that history, what people do and Christians do and Muslims do. And it's easy to get lost in all of that. But really it comes down to those two figures. But first of all, what did Jesus teach about fighting in the name of God? Well, turn to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26 verses 52 and 53. And I want you to write these down because they're not in your notes. So as Christians, we follow the Bible. What did Jesus teach and what does the New Testament teach? So it's really interesting because I was preparing my class and this morning I was actually just having my devotions. But I just love how the Lord is because He works in such natural ways and the Lord met me today in my devotions because I was reading from I'm going to go over the accounts of Jesus' arrest, crucifixion and resurrection this week. And I would encourage anyone to do that. So today I did Matthew and tomorrow Mark and Luke and John. Well, lo and behold, look at what Jesus said. Yes, Matthew 26 verse 52 verse 52. So here we go. They come to the Garden of Gethsemane and they come to arrest Jesus. We all are familiar with it. Well, look at the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the commander-in-chief of our faith. What does he say? Jesus said to him. OK, now this was, remember, it speaks of a man who came and took out a sword and cut off the priest here. We know later on that it was Peter. OK, Jesus said to him, put your sword in its place for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to my father and he will provide me with more than 12 legions of angels? How then could the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus? There's a whole lot of stuff there that you can just meditate on and think about and cause you to, as we study Jihad, to cause you to compare and look at the teachings of Muhammad. But look at the words of Jesus. First of all, he doesn't encourage him to fight. He discourages him. He says, no, put your sword in its place for everyone who lives by the sword will die by the sword. And then Jesus furthermore says, I could ask for legions of angels to deliver me, but I choose not to. So Jesus voluntarily goes to the cross. OK, next verse, John 18. So this is Jesus in front of the soldiers coming to attack him, coming to take him, arrest him. And then John 18. Here is Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate. And this is actually one of my favorite verses when I think about this issue, when I think of Jihad. And I always, the Lord reminds me of this verse. I love this verse. John 18 36. Now I'm going to back up here to verse 35, Pilate answered and said to Jesus, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me. What have you done? And Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. Now stop. If Jesus says my kingdom, who has a kingdom? A king. OK, so Jesus is implying that he is a king. He says, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight. So he's saying, if it were, then my servants would fight. So that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from here. And then Pilate said to him, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who's of the truth hears my voice. So these two verses right here give us an understanding. It builds a teaching of what did Jesus teach on violence? Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world. So I have a heavenly kingdom. And he taught me that I am not to fight, but that I am allowed God to take care of me and to defend me. But Jesus clearly, he did not teach his disciples. He did not lead them into war. It's very clear. It's very clear. Now, a second thing for us to think about, who are we fighting? OK, so first of all, we know that our kingdom is not of this world. Our kingdom is heavenly. But the Bible says something about our warfare on earth. OK, Ephesians chapter six, we're all familiar with this verse. Ephesians chapter six, not only do we know we have a kingdom that is not of this world. It's a heavenly kingdom. But also we know that we are as Christians to be engaged in a warfare. But our warfare is spiritual. It's not physical. Ephesians chapter six, verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Not the wiles of the Jews or the Gentiles or the unbelievers. No, who is against me, the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So I understand from this verse, along with what Jesus taught me, that I am in warfare, but my warfare is spiritual. And I am called to wrestle. Wrestling is hand-to-hand combat. Wrestling, really, you get in there. But we as Christians are called to do that because my enemy, I can't see. My enemy, I can't... He's invisible. And my enemy is destroyed or overcome not by physical weapons, but by spiritual weapons. And so who do we fight? We're fighting Satan and his principalities and powers of darkness. Now, how do we fight? How do we fight in this spiritual battle? 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 3 through 6. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. It's very clear. For though we are in this body and we're on this earth, we don't fight as somebody in the flesh, a physical battle. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're not earthly and they're not physical. But mighty in God, they're in God for pulling down strongholds. Think about that. When you are sharing with a Muslim, you have been called to pull down a stronghold because there is a stronghold. There is a fortress, a satanic fortress around them. And it is by knowing this, knowing the Word of God number one and number two, knowing what you believe and why you believe it in order to pull down the stronghold. So he says they're casting down arguments. Here's another thing that you are called to do. You are to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. You see, when we as Christians become we get on fire for Jesus, then it means we're going to be obedient. And when we are obedient to God, then we are going to punish all disobedience. And that's how we're going to win the world for Jesus by obeying God's Word and by bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. So we looked at what Jesus taught, what the New Testament teaches, who are we fighting and how are we fighting? Okay? Now, let's go into Islam and Jihad in Islam. So this is Jihad is holy war in Islam. So look at this, the very question and raising of the issue, is Islam a religion of peace? Is a revealing question. Think about it, just the very fact when people are asking all over the world, is Islam a religion of peace? We don't have the topic of debate. Is Christianity or Judaism a religion of peace? That's never a debate. It's never a question. The very fact of the question causes you to wonder and causes you to doubt, to say, well, why is there a challenge? There must be a reason for the challenge, right? Okay. So here the following section, I have here written in the middle, the following section on Jihad was taken from a course on Islam by Joe Kerry. This is a fellow brother who's ministering in Texas and he had some very great information that he allowed me to use. So Jihad defined, the word Jihad has a somewhat broad lexical meaning. First of all, it speaks of a struggle or striving. At the most basic level, the word Jihad means to strive or struggle, particularly as it applies to the desire of Muslims to please Allah. Jihad is most often defined as striving in the way of Allah, struggling to do that which pleases Allah or exerting oneself with regard to one's religion. Okay, so this is one of the basic meanings of Jihad and this is one of the meanings that most Muslims will actually turn to and they'll say, Jihad is really an internal struggle. It's us striving to please Allah. It's us fighting our own selfish desires. It's fighting ourself. It's the fight an internal fight. Okay. Now, did you know that the Bible refers to striving or struggling? First of all, striving as something that God commands in the spiritual life. Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 13. I find this interesting because sometimes this is a word or a term that we don't really relate to in Christianity but yet the Bible speaks about it. Striving is something that God commands in the Christian life. Okay, Luke 13 verse 24. What did Jesus say? Strive to enter through the narrow gate for many I say to you will seek to enter and will not be able. That's a very, that's not a verse that you hear very often. Jesus doesn't simply say enter in through the narrow gate but he says strive to enter through the narrow gate. Okay, turn to Colossians 129. Colossians 129. This is Paul the Apostle and he says this, to this end I also labor striving according to his working which works in me mightily. So this is very interesting because Paul says that he's laboring but he says to this end he labors striving according to his working. So there's two parts. There's two sides. It's Paul striving and struggling to walk with God but then he says but it is according to his mighty work. Okay, it is according to his mighty work. So Paul speaks of a striving to please the God and to serve him and then go to Matthew chapter 11 verse 12. Matthew 11 verse 12 and this is also one of those verses that are very interesting. Jesus he says in verse 12 and from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence. And the violent take it by force. Wow, interesting. The Lord actually just gave me these verses just this week. I didn't even have these prepared but I want us to think about it because it's easy to actually forget and say wait a minute Jesus taught an internal striving and a struggling and listen to what Spurgeon Spurgeon said about this verse where he says the violent take it by force. Spurgeon said there should be a violent anxiety to be saved. There should be a violent anxiety to be saved. You see when I follow Jesus there needs to be an earnestness to come to the Lord is not like okay, yeah, I'll follow Jesus. Yeah, I'll accept him into my heart. I understand that he forgave me all my sins. That person doesn't understand Christianity. When there's true repentance and when there's true reconciliation when I understand I'm going to follow God with all my heart and I'm going to strive I'm going to seek to please him but guess what there is a striving to deny my flesh every day but God is working in me. So there's you you have to obey God and deny your flesh but there's God working in you. It doesn't happen without one without the other for somebody to say oh, all of my life it's all God doing it. Well, yes, but no you have to when God says don't do that don't get angry you have to not get angry but it's God working in you but when we start to use sometimes Christianies and say well, it's all God no, it's not all God. God said do this and you did it. So God worked in you but you obeyed him you see and so that's what we see but Spurgeon said there should be a violent anxiety to be saved. But there is the other side of the coin striving is also something that God condemns. Look at 2 Timothy 2 24 2 Timothy 2 24 he says and a servant of the Lord must not quarrel that word quarrel is strive okay or the word to fight struggle quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patience. Okay, so here we see that God condemns having an evil heart that desires to fight or quarrel because what does Jesus teach us? He said if you have hatred towards your brother in your heart you have committed murder. Right. And so we see that God condemns an actual physical fighting or striving but God commends when we are striving against our flesh and seeking to please him with all of our heart. Okay. So that's what the Bible has to say. Now let's go back here to our notes. The Encyclopedia of Islam says of Jihad that in law according to general doctrine and in historical tradition the Jihad consists of military action with the object of the expansion of Islam and if need be its defense. So notice what it said. It consists of military action with the object of expansion. So it always is describing Jihad is military action desiring to expand Islam. Going on. Jihad is defined as warfare authorized by a legitimate representative of the Muslim community for the sake of an issue that is universally or nearly universally acknowledged to be of critical importance for the entire community against an admitted enemy of Islam. One common understanding of Jihad is defined as an internal struggle or a struggle against the inner self or inner desires. This definition is one preferred by moderate Muslims as well as those in the media and academia who would have us believe that Islam has no historical connection at all to violence and is purely a religion of peace. The beginnings of a demilitarized or peaceful concept of Jihad in ancient Islamic literature can be traced to the 8th and 9th centuries long after the death of Muhammad. Okay, what they are trying to tell us is this idea of a peaceful demilitarized meaning there was no military action. You know, Muhammad just preached and he told people receive or reject Islam as you wish and then people some received and some rejected but nobody was killed and conquested and destroyed. He said this idea comes from the 8th and 9th century after Muhammad died but it was never the reality never the truth. And this is actually the meaning that you will see throughout the media. Okay, when the media says and we're going to see a clip where Obama says there is no religion on earth that would approve of killing in the name of God or in the name of Allah. Okay, this is exactly what the media wants us to believe and they've been deceived and most of them don't even know they don't know their stuff at all because if they study the Quran and the Hadith as we're going to look at today then their eyes will be open. However, many do know but they choose to turn a blind eye. That's the truth. So jihad as a spiritual struggle lacks any support in the Islamic canonical literature. So this idea of a spiritual struggle that jihad is it really lacks in the Islamic canonical literature. It's not in there. For example, in Bukhari, okay, Bukhari is one of the Hadith. Okay. So remember you have the two authoritative texts in Islam is the Quran which is directly from Allah from God and you have the Hadith. Okay. The strongest Hadith is from Sahih Bukhari. Bukhari is his name. Sahih means the most reliable. It means strong, reliable. So almost every Sunni Muslim in the world will attest. Yes. If it's in the in the Hadith Bukhari we believe it. Okay. Cause this is the words of Muhammad and the actions of Muhammad. So in Bukhari of the 72 times the word jihad is used it always speaks of fighting a war in the cause of Allah. Interesting. Scholars who study and analyze Middle East culture note that spiritual jihad is merely a facade created in an attempt to disguise the truth of jihad hiding behind the facade to those of us in the West. Jihad as a spiritual struggle is presented only to Western audiences. It's only to you if we transport ourselves into the Middle East and if we all understood Arabic and we watch the programs and we watch the scholars from Egypt and from Iraq and all you will not hear this spiritual struggle. It's for the people in the West let them hear that so they'll be deceived because as as Muslims will come into the culture and come into society they will be able to adapt and then Islam will expand peacefully so that then it can be taken by force. This is only in the West. Jihad as a spiritual struggle I'm sorry I read that quote few Muslim scholars or even apologists writing in non-European languages have ever made the exaggerated claims regarding spiritual struggle. Those who write in Arabic or other Muslim languages realize that it is pointless to present jihad as anything other than militant warfare. This is from David Cook's book Understanding Jihad. Sahih Bukhari from the Hadith also includes the possibility of martyrdom as a consequence of jihad meaning somebody may die they may lose their life in the fight for Islam. Becoming a martyr is an odd concept if jihad is limited to an internal struggle alone. It would make no sense that the Quran talks over and over again as we're gonna see that you will lose your life give of your life lose it for the sake of Allah if it's referring to only a spiritual struggle of you denying your flesh it wouldn't make sense it's unreasonable. So now let's look at warfare. A footnote in the English translation of Bukhari's Hadith collection notes El Jihad this means holy fighting. Jihad in Allah's cause with full force of numbers and weaponry is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of the pillars on which it stands. By jihad Islam is established Allah's word is made superior and his religion Islam is propagated. Over 160 verses in the Quran speak of jihad as fighting or killing. Here are just a sample of some okay but there are 160 over 160 verses for example Surah 2 verse 216 jihad holy fighting in Allah's cause is ordained for you. He tells them this is ordained for you. Surah 4 verse 74 whoso fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or gets victory we shall bestow on him a great reward. Surah 8 verse 39 fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere. Surah 9 verse 29 this one is probably the most well-known this is a good one if you're going to memorize any memorize Surah 9 29 just the reference Surah 9 29 fight against those who believe not in Allah nor in the last day nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and his messenger which is Muhammad and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth which is Islam among the people of the scripture which is Jews and Christians so he says those who are of the Jews and Christians who do not acknowledge that Islam is from God you are to fight them and in fact the word fight is in English but in the Arabic it says to kill okay it means to kill Surah 47 verse 4 so when you meet in fight Jihad and Allah's cause those who disbelieve smite their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them so this is clear and this is why you this is why you see in the news where they behead people they're beheading Christians and behead others okay they will even behead other Muslims why? because Muslims who are moderate or who do not fight in Jihad or refuse to they are considered by many of these Muslims as non-believers even another Muslim okay number three the Hadith also speaks extensively of Jihad as warfare and nothing else this is from Bukhari 2783 reference when you are called by the Muslim ruler for Jihad which is holy fighting in Allah's cause you are to go forth immediately so this is not something that you are to resist you are to obey if the ruler of the land tells you to go and fight in Jihad you are to fight if not then you can be killed number four note however that in many cases warfare was preceded by a call to Islam the target person or people group were first given an opportunity to embrace Islam okay this is a quote from Ibn Abi Zaid al-Qarawani in his book Decline of Eastern Christianity it is preferable not to begin hostilities with the enemy before having invited the latter to embrace the religion of Allah except where the enemy attacks first they have the alternative of either converting to Islam or paying the poll tax short of which war will be declared against them so in Islam it says that as a Muslim you are to first invite people to become a Muslim that's sort of the evangelism okay you are to tell them this is what you are to believe believe in Allah believe in his messenger which is Muhammad you are to believe in judgment day and believe that Islam is a religion from Allah if you don't then you have the the option of paying a poll tax so you are to pay money which in Arabic is called jizya okay and the jizya you are to pay that to the ruler of the land in order that he protects you and that you can remain alive if you don't pay then you will be killed so it's either convert or pay or be killed but they will those that may engage you in discussion may say well it always comes first to invite them to invite them first to Islam then if they reject then of course yes you kill them well that makes it a lot easier okay look at surah 8 verse 12 where we see where the idea of terrorism and what we see in the Quran it teaches terror it says there in surah 8 12 remember thy lord inspired the angels with the message I am with you give firmness to the believers I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers look at what he says smite ye above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them this is what the revelation of Allah gave to Muhammad in the Quran and the more we study it the more you will see the Allah of the Quran is not the God of the Bible he is a different God okay now look at martyrdom the evil idea of martyrdom for the sake of Allah is rooted in the Quran in his article Islamic martyrdom what a bargain James Arlinson said this indeed these three references explicitly use words that can note buying and selling and signing a contract of sale and the currency behind the deals is death by martyrdom these verses guarantee Islamic martyrs heaven in an economic bargain so you will see in these verses as if Allah is saying look we're gonna do a deal you sell your life to me and you be killed in the name of me and I will give you heaven okay look at these verses surah 61 verses 10 through 12 O ye who believe shall I show you a commerce that will save you from a painful doom okay and many times when you're reading it doesn't even make sense okay it's it's because you can only really understand it in Arabic ye should believe in Allah and his messenger and should strive there's the word jihad you should strive for the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives that is better for you if ye did but know he will forgive you your sins and bring you into gardens underneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of Eden that is the supreme triumph excuse me now something you will notice if you ever read the Quran whenever Allah promises the Muslim paradise or heaven it always speaks of gardens and it speaks of rivers and the reason why that is is because Muhammad and Islam started in the land of the desert in an area of the desert and so this to them was something that was desirable okay and when you read the Quran you can see everything was according to that place and that time and that location alright second surah 4 verse 74 let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other who so fighteth in the way of Allah be he slain or be he victorious on him we shall bestow a vast reward so again encouraging them to fight because they will receive a reward if they die and third verse surah 9 verse 111 lo Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the garden will be theirs they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain it is a promise which is binding on him in the Torah and the gospel and the Quran look at here this is Allah speaking in the Quran he's bringing in the Torah which is our Old Testament and the Bible the gospel and the Quran he says it's in there it's binding on him who fulfilleth his covenant better than Allah rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made for that is the supreme triumph so this idea of martyrdom is in the Quran and you can understand why would somebody as a Muslim want to give their life to take the lives of unbelievers and died because he will be promised paradise okay what is the purpose of jihad you have several purposes of jihad number one to rid the world of polytheists that would be us okay we are considered we're gonna be dealing with this you and I are considered a polytheist poly many theists God okay for the Muslim you and I believe in three gods okay and remember when Muhammad started in Mecca he came he started in a place of idolatry polytheism there were 360 gods so his revelation from Allah was there is one God go and destroy all the other gods and set up the worship of one God and so that's what a Muslim feels proud and boast about they Islam is the religion that brought monotheism okay this is what they're what they understand so jihad is to rid the world of polytheists unbelievers and hypocrites okay a hypocrite would be somebody even as a Muslim who is not practicing prayer who is not practicing jihad if commanded to and obviously they are in the Quran and other things the five pillars of Islam number two jihad is to spread Islam it's intended to spread Islam throughout the earth number three jihad is to test the true followers of Allah who will obey and who will not number four to obtain booty okay when they go into battle they conquered and they took over merchants and tradesmen and they got wealthier and wealthier and wealthier and this is the thing you see with Muhammad he began poor and he ended up wealthy and rich and powerful number five assure one's place in paradise as we saw in the previous verses and there's a sixth sixth thing and I'm going to read this from the Quran it is the highest honor by Allah he gives highest honor to the one who practices jihad listen to this you might want to add that in there I don't think I have it in there in surah four so as a Muslim one Muslim by Allah is considered higher than another Muslim okay think about that in our in our faith does God ever in his words say you are higher or better than this other Christian here if you do A, B or C okay look at this surah four verses 95 through 96 okay listen sorry I got the wrong this is the okay here it is not equal are those believers who sit at home except those who are disabled so unless you are handicapped and you can't go anywhere and those who strive and fight jihad in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons so with your finances with your money and with yourself Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit at home unto all in faith has Allah promised good so to every person God he promises good Allah but those who strive and fight has he distinguished above those who sit at home by a great reward ranks specially bestowed by him and forgiveness and mercy for Allah is oft forgiving most merciful so he always says that he is very forgiving and very merciful but there is a higher rank if somebody fights in jihad okay some methods what are the methods of jihad well number one they take disbelievers or unbelievers captive and you saw that throughout the life of Muhammad in those years when he went from Mecca and he grew in his following to Medina and then from Medina back to establish Islam in Mecca you see that he took many many captives many many captives and number two a method of jihad is obviously to kill the disbelievers or unbelievers now the Quran reveals three stages of jihad and this is what a lot of people the majority of Christians do not know this there are three stages of jihad in the life and in the history of Islam and along with that we need to understand something there is what the verses and the surahs in the Quran are divided up into two categories two the Meccan surahs and the Medinan surahs the surahs which came to Muhammad supposedly from Allah in Mecca right when he was small and weak and he didn't have much of a following and then you have the verses that came to him when he went to Medina and then he grew and became powerful so what happens is the verses and the surahs that came to Muhammad in Mecca they are calm, they are gentle, they are peaceful and those are the verses that Muslims in the west will refer to but those are the Meccan verses and we're going to cover the reason why because later in the Medinan verses then they were violent then they were aggressive and those came later okay but let's look here at the three stages of jihad number one, the first stage when Muslims are outnumbered they are to proclaim a message of peace okay, so think about the world think about where Muslims are okay when they are outnumbered they are to proclaim a message of peace surah 2 verse 256 this is one that every Muslim in the west talks about and speaks out loud there is no compulsion or religion hey, you see Islam in surah 256 says there is no compulsion in religion there is no force you can believe what you want to believe we believe what we believe that's fine there's no problem surah 109 verse 6 unto you your religion and unto me my religion sounds great wonderful if only they would do this now if a person thinks you might say to yourself, well, wait a minute you just said the meccan verses which was earlier in Islamic history those were peaceful and the later verses which are Medinan verses those were violent so how come surah 2 the second surah or second chapter is in the beginning of the Quran but then we have surah 109 it's way later in the Quran and that's peaceful who has an answer for that? who remembers what I said? what? it's not chronological okay, the Quran is not chronological literally one verse in a surah may have happened early and then the very next verse may have happened 15 years 10 years later so you have no idea okay? the only way you know is in the hadith and the people who have studied the hadith that's why they know and they can break it down and say these are meccan and these are Medinan okay? it's very complicated but just so you know number 2 and by the way when you are talking with a Muslim and when you when you share these things that you are learning right here immediately you have knowledge because the majority I guarantee be on a shout of a doubt the majority of Christians first of all do not know any of this and second of all many Muslims don't even know this but if they go and and verify what you say they're going to hold respect for you because you just said yes some verses are Meccan and some are Medinan okay? so number 2 this is the second stage of jihad when Muslim numbers increase they are permitted to engage in defensive wars okay so now they move from you your religion I keep mine I'm at peace no violence to now when you begin to increase now you can fight in defense in defense so look at Surah 22 verses 39 through 40 sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged and Allah is indeed able to give them victory those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said our Lord is Allah for had it not been for Allah's repelling some men by means of others cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques wherein the name of Allah is often mentioned would assuredly have been pulled down verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth him lo Allah is strong Almighty and here is another verse for you write this down surah 5 verse 33 surah 5 verse 33 so Muslims can engage in defensive wars it says the punishment of those who wage war against Allah and his messenger and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is so now he Allah in the Quran tells Muhammad and the Muslims there is a punishment for anybody who fights against the Muslims and against Muhammad and against Allah and this and they cause mischief okay it's very vague if you cause mischief in the land there's a punishment for you either execution or crucifixion okay what is ISIS doing they're crucifying all they're doing guys is obeying their scripture obeying their Quran crucifixion or cutting off hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land okay what have they been doing a lot of people have just been exiled and they become refugees that is their disgrace in this world and a heavy punishment is theirs in the hereafter so this is the Quran this is what Allah has revealed to Muhammad those who fight those who cause mischief they are to these are the punishments for them now the third stage of Jihad the third stage when Muslims are the majority they are commanded to fight in offensive wars so now when they become stronger and more in number then they will fight in offensive wars whether you're fighting them or not they're going to fight you and take over Surah 929 fight against such of those who have been given the scripture as believe not in Allah nor the last day and forbid not that which Allah has forbidden by his messenger and follow not the religion of truth that's Islam the religion of truth until they pay the tribute readily being brought low see it even says until they are brought low meaning humiliated okay now so these are the three stages so you can see the three stages of Jihad and this is what was practiced in the life of Muhammad now consider this if there is no compulsion in religion as it said there in Surah 2 256 and this is what most Muslims in the west will always use if there's no compulsion in religion then it should apply in believing and also in disbelieving because think about it if I say I'm not going to force you to believe but are you going to force me to stay if I don't want to believe anymore right if I choose to leave my belief are you going to force me or are you going to let me okay it's irrational to say it applies only in believing so concerning the statistics we should say Islam is the fastest growing enforced religion in the world okay so when we hear that Islam is the fastest growing religion it's because first of all if I have a family of eight kids me and my wife obviously I count that we're 10 Muslims in this house okay irrelevant of what are they believing or what are they doing they may not be following Islam at all so that's number one number two those in Islamic countries that are staying Muslim simply because if they leave they'll be killed so I'm going to stay so they're a Muslim out of fear so it's the fastest growing enforced religion in the world because you can come to us and believe but if you leave us then we'll kill you okay it is very much like a mafia yeah it is it is very much like a mafia and I've said that to two Muslims where I've had a good friendship with them and I've said this is this is a mafia my friend now jihad versus the crusades this is something that always comes up Muslims will like to say well you had the Christian crusades look at how many Muslims and others the Christians in the name of the cross there on their shields the Europeans with their crosses on the shields and where they killed people and slayed people by the hundreds and thousands and so many other things Muslims will bring up what's happening in Ireland between the Protestants and the Catholics and other places of the world where Christians are killing okay this is to me it's a very easy argument the issue is you're comparing what Muhammad did in the name of religion in the name of Islam and what people are doing that is not led by Christ do you see what I'm saying the crusades were never commanded by Jesus Christ we do not see Jesus Christ saying follow me let us go kill in the name of of Christ and let's spread the gospel and whoever doesn't believe in Jesus that he died and rose again and whoever doesn't repent of their sins they should be killed Jesus never commanded that what the crusaders did they did in spite of the Bible what what people in jihad do they are doing because of the Quran you see there's a big difference so the crusades holds no water and anything in history holds no water because unless a person can validate their actions by the word of God it holds no water and so we can talk about the many religions of the world if it's not here I don't believe it oh well people do this I've had discussions with you know Muslims where they say well you you cannot marry how are you married you're not supposed to marry I said where did you hear that so they have ideas from the Catholic priests that you can't marry so then I show them in the Bible marriage God created marriage he never said that and then they begin to start to say oh so you begin to break down walls and misconceptions and misunderstandings from a Muslim okay but how else does that happen dialogue you've got to talk you've got to dialogue so next before we end the issue of jihad we have to look at the law of abrogation in the Quran and then we're going to take just a real quick break the law of abrogation in the Quran this is very important to know why because this is where you see the Meccan verses and the Medinan verses and which one holds water which one do you follow okay so this is the canceling of early verses in the Quran and replacing or overruling them with later and better verses that is what the word abrogate means okay and it's in the Quran okay it's in the Quran in Arabic Nasekh and Mansukh okay so for those Arabic speakers so the law of abrogation when early verses are canceled and replaced by a later verse so Surah 2 verse one verse 106 such of our revelations this is Allah speaking such of our revelations as we abrogate or cause to be forgotten we bring one better or the like thereof know you not that Allah is able to do all things Allah is saying don't you know I can do anything I want so I'll bring this and just scratch that verse this cancels that verse see but the problem is the Muslims need to know that they need to be aware look at what the Quran says so we are bringing the Quran this is the word of Allah this is untouchable he says I bring verses now that cancel those verses so when you say there's no compulsion in religion this verse cancels that one so you have a problem okay write this down Surah another one Surah 16 Surah 16 verse 101 101 so I'm giving you two verses here so that you can have a basis for this and once again any Muslim that rejects what you say and say no that's not true they can go and verify it I always encourage them go ask your Imam don't believe me what I'm saying go take this ask your Imam and see if it's true because we know it to be true Surah 16 verse 101 Allah says when we substitute one revelation for another and God knows best what he reveals they say okay he says they say meaning the polytheists or the unbelievers outside of Islam they say you are but a fabricator indeed most of them have no knowledge you see Allah he's very intelligent he said when I said when I bring something that substitutes one revelation for another and they begin to tell you Muhammad you are a fabricator you're making up things remember what we talked about Muhammad that they said he was demon possessed they said he was a magician they said he was you know saying to worship even other goddesses and bringing that in with Islam and they said you're a fabricator Allah says indeed most of them have no knowledge so don't listen to them they're fools they're ignorant okay so that's what he says this justified Muhammad's change from moderate to very harsh treatment of non-muslims so this is why he could justify it because those earlier verses are now canceled by the later and the later is what they now what stands and those are the violent verses which were the Medinian verses now I'm going to show you a video one of my heroes of the faith so this man here that's going to speak he's a Moroccan from Morocco his name is Rashid well his name is Rashid brother Rashid okay because he is because he's on television and he's on the internet he has a TV program once a week that goes because of satellite television and because of the internet it is broadcast throughout the whole world and he has a call-in show so he will talk about subjects that are Islamic from the Quran from the Hadith from their scholars and then he will talk about it and then people will call in from Saudi Arabia from England, Canada, Australia anywhere in the world some people will receive Christ on the air it's incredible and he speaks about about Jihad and he speaks English so he's going to share here one of my heroes right here what happened let's rewind did you hear that? he said ISIS he said ISIL he likes to say ISIL is not Islamic no religion condones the killing of innocent people okay let's just ISIL is not Islamic no religion condones the killing of innocents and the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim and ISIL is certainly not a state dear Mr. President with all due respect sir I must tell you that you are wrong about ISIL you said ISIL speaks for no religion I'm a former Muslim my dad is an Imam I spent more than 20 years studying Islam I hold a bachelor degree in religious studies and I'm in the middle of my master's degree in terrorism studies I can tell you with confidence that ISIL speaks for Islam allow me to correct you Mr. President ISIL is a Muslim organization its name stands for Islamic State so even the name suggests that it is an Islamic movement their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi holds a PhD in Islamic studies I doubt you know Islam better than he does he was a preacher and a religious leader in one of the local mosques in Baghdad ISIL's 10,000 members are all Muslims none of them are from any other religion they come from different countries and have one common denominator Islam they are following Islam's Prophet Muhammad in every detail they imitate him by growing their beers shaving their moustaches and in the way they dress they follow his command in the hadith to differentiate themselves from the infidels by wearing by wearing their watches on the right instead of the left hand they implement sharia and every piece of land they conquer they pray five times a day they have called for a caliphate which is a central doctrine in Sunni Islam and they are willing to die for their religion they are following the steps of Islam's Prophet Muhammad to the letter by the way if you want to understand ISIL read the oldest biography of Muhammad by Ibn Hisham this is their model for action you think that ISIL does not speak for Islam because they beheaded an American and they killed those home they consider infidels in the same way Islam's Prophet Muhammad beheaded in one day between 600 and 900 adult males in a Jewish tribe called Banu Quraiza in fact beheading is commanded in the Quran in Surah 47 the fourth verse it says when you meet the unbelievers in fight smite at their necks ironically this Surah is called the Surah of Muhammad killing prisoners is also an order from Allah to Muhammad and to all Muslims it says it is not for a Prophet to have captives of war until he inflicts a massacre upon Allah's enemies in the land Quran 867 and by the way three of Muhammad's wives were Jewish girls he kidnapped from his raids on the religious minorities just as ISIL is doing today Mr. President I grew up in Morocco supposedly a moderate country yet I still learned at a young age to hate the enemies of Allah especially Jews and Christians these are represented today by Israel and the West especially the great Satan America I prayed five times a day repeating al-Fatiha the first chapter in the Quran asking Allah to lead me not in the way of those who want astray and those who have the wrath of Allah upon them we all knew that it is Jews and Christians we have been brainwashed to hate all of you in our sacred texts in our prayers in our Friday sermons in our educational systems we were ready to join any group that one day would fight you and destroy you and make Islam the religion of the whole world as the Quran says this is what I and millions like me have been taught Mr. President this is an irrevocable fact fortunately when I grow up I choose to leave Islam and became a Christian because I believe that God is love others also left and still every day they are leaving Islam and choosing different paths for their lives all of them are suffering today because again Islam's prophet Muhammad said whoever changes his religion kill him I left Morocco under persecution I was fortunate others throughout the Muslim world do not have the same opportunity they are paying a heavy price in different ways in order to get their freedom one day I ask you Mr. President to stop being politically correct to call things by their names ISIL Al Qaeda Boko Haram Ashebab in Somalia the Taliban and their sister brand names are all made in Islam unless the Muslim world deals with Islam and separates religion from state we will never end this cycle until you deal with the root of the problem we will be just dealing with the symptoms ISIL is just one symptom if it disappears other ISIL's will be born under different names you might ask then why does ISIL kill other Muslims? the answer is that they consider them infidels not Muslims do you know that all four schools in Islam agree that if a Muslim stops praying he should be asked to repent and if he does not he should be killed do you know that Muhammad tried to burn his own companions when this stopped coming to prayers? so anything that qualifies a Muslim to be an infidel can be a reason for killing him even neglecting to pray if Islam is not the problem then why is it that there are millions of Christians in Middle East and yet none of them has ever blown up himself to become a martyr even though they live under the same economic and political circumstances and even worse why have many Muslims in the West also joined ISIL if Islam is not the reason? why have even new converts to Islam become terrorists? Mr. President if you really want to fight terrorism then fight it at the root how many Saudi sheikhs are preaching hatred? how many Islamic channels indoctrinating people and teaching them violence from the Quran and the hadith how many Friday sermons are made against the West freedom and democracy how many Islamic schools are producing generations of teacher and students who believe in Jihad and martyrdom and fighting the infidels and finally how many websites are funded by governments your allies that have sheikhs or issue fatwas against basic human rights if you want to fight terrorism start from there by the way I do not give my full name because Islam is a religion of peace I'm knowing around the whole world as brother Rashid and I implore you to take a stand for international human rights and the future of democracy and speak the truth about the real threat that is facing all of us best regards brother Rashid alright so the fact of the matter is this to close it up the world would be a better place if Christians went back to their roots and obeyed the scriptures completely however the world would be worse off than now if Muslims went back to their roots and obeyed the Quran completely you see I want you to think about that the world would be a better place if we went back to our roots and we went back to the book of acts and we did as they did they preached they prayed they loved they gave and the people spread the Christianity spread but if Islam went back to their roots the world would be worse not better but worse than it is now you see and that's what ISIS is doing they're going back to their roots they're going back to the beginning of Islam so we need to follow Christ and we need to follow the example of Jesus Christ given to us in the scriptures and we need to pray we need to pray for the Muslims around us because God has given us a mission field so now we're going to move on to answering Islamic objections part one before I do that I don't know if any of you brought this the vocabulary the Arabic vocabulary okay I'm just going to go over the very last one part three on there if you have it and just go over those words because we're going to be dealing with these words here so here we go so the Old Testament which is the books of Moses but is referred to as the Old Testament is the Torah Torah the Psalms in Arabic is the Zabur Zabur the New Testament or the Gospel of Jesus is the Injil Injil okay important words Adam in Arabic is Adam it's almost the same Abraham is Ibrahim Ibrahim Moses is Musa Musa David is Dawood Dawood John the Baptist is Yehiyah Yehiyah the word of God which is one of Jesus's names in the Quran the word of God is Kelimet Allah Kelimet Allah the cross in Arabic Asalib Asalib Christian a male would be Mesihi Mesihi and a Christian female for a girl would be Mesihiah Mesihiah A at the end makes it feminine pretty much for any word in Arabic so Mesihi I'm Mesihi you are Mesihiah the way Atariq Atariq the truth Al Haq Al Haq that's a hard letter to pronounce Haq the life Al Hayat Al Hayat the mediator Al Waasit Al Waasit God is love Allah Huwa Ma Habba that's love Ma Habba Allah Huwa Ma Habba love is Ma Habba in Arabic Ma Habba Church Kenesa Kenesa Family A'Ilah A'Ilah the Lord bless you Arab Iberikfik Arab Iberikfik it's fun to say Arab if you can say it Arab Iberikfik the Lord Arab the Lord be with you Arab Maq Arab Maq so those are words those are things that I say to Muslims when I say God bless you I'll say Arab Iberikfik I will say to them I will say God bless you because Jesus taught us in the Sermon of the Mount bless those that curse you so we are to give them blessings so I tell them God bless you may God bless you bless you with salvation bless you with knowledge of Him so we move on here to Islamic objections and we're going to deal with two of them the next session we're going to finish off the other four so there are two real quick the word yes they consider Jesus the word of God yes those are one of his names in the Quran yes he is the word of God so before we know the word of God we must know the God of the word if we're going to evangelize and reach Muslims for Jesus we've got to have a relationship with God we cannot give what we don't have right we've all heard that and in 1 Corinthians 15 1 through 3 you know Paul says that which was delivered unto me the Gospel I give to you that Jesus according to the Scriptures was taken was crucified died and was buried according to the Scriptures and Paul says there what was delivered to me I give to you so what's really important as Christians is we understand I can't give if I don't have I need to know the God of the word before I know the word of God okay and when I have that relationship with God through his word I am now able to be filled with his spirit and be able to take the Gospel to the Muslims and be able to answer these questions and give an answer for my faith so we are dealing with apologetics here the Greek word apologia it is a verbal defense B it is a reason statement or argument Christian apologetics deals with the ability to provide an answer or defense to those who criticize, oppose or question the revelation of God Christ and the Bible as well as biblical doctrines and I'm not going to go over those right now because we won't have the time but you can see those verses there Jude 3 through 4 1 Peter 3 15 where it says we are to give a defense of the hope that lies within us and Paul many times refers to giving that and he speaks of that word defense in the Greek apologia and then you can see all through Acts chapter 9 chapter 9 chapter 18 chapter 19 of Acts Paul there's different words that are used to describe his relationship he would prove Jesus he would dispute he would reason he would show many things to show that Paul was giving a defense for the faith and as Jesus told us John 8 32 very important you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free so how is a Muslim going to know Jesus Christ well they need to know the truth and it will be the truth that will set them free but you are his mouthpiece you see God could speak from heaven but he chooses not to he chooses to use you and God says go into all the world and preach the gospel so let's deal with the first issue this is one of the first and top issues in Islam of the corruption of the Bible the corruption of the Bible so this is the objection this is what the Muslim will say and what they believe God revealed throughout history four holy books containing God's word the Torah the Psalms the gospel and the Koran four holy books God gave these books to his holy prophets to communicate his will to mankind and lead them in the straight path the first three holy books were revealed to the Jewish people for a period of time they were perfect and preserved by God however at one point the Jewish people and Christians began to change and corrupt God's word removing what they didn't like and adding to it what they wanted it to say thus God's final revelation and holy book was the Koran it was given to correct the corruption that occurred previously and bring all people everywhere back to the straight path of God so this is what is in the mind of a Muslim when they see your Bible and they know their Koran this you cannot trust it's corrupted I can't trust it it's been changed it's been corrupted things added things taken away that's the Bible for the Muslim Is this the Bible under us? yes everything okay now okay we're gonna deal with this some background so we need to know some things here we must realize that the Koran clearly refers to the Torah, Psalms and Gospel of Christ as originating with God with Allah and directs people to read them in order to confirm the Koran okay very interesting it tells them in the Koran to go to these books okay let's go one by one so Torah in Surah 5 verse 46 it says and in their footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary okay obviously it will never say the son of God it says the son of Mary confirming notice the words confirming the law that had come before him we sent him the Gospel therein was guidance and light and confirmation of the law that had come before him the law is the Torah a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah okay so there you see the Torah was given Allah says I gave the Torah before the Gospel and the Gospel confirms what was in the law in the Torah that I gave for guidance and light so it's good Allah gave it this is for you to lead you in the right way and I gave you some other references as well okay that mention about the Torah now the Koran speaks of the Psalms the Zabur in Surah 17 verse 55 and it is your Lord that knoweth best all beings that are in the heavens and on earth we did bestow on some prophets more and other gifts than on others and we gave to David the gift of the Psalms so there Allah says we gave to David Dawud the gift of the Psalms so we know the Torah is from God we know the Psalms is from God and last the third the Gospel of Jesus the Injil in Arabic Surah 5 verse 46 and in their footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming the law that had come before him okay this is a repetition we sent him the Gospel therein was guidance and light and confirmation of the law that had come before him a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah let's okay now notice this is very very very important let the people of the Gospel who is that? that's us Christians let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein therein what? the Gospel if any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah hath revealed they are no better than those who rebel now you really have to think about it and wrap your mind around what he said okay we're going to talk about this so in the Koran Allah says I gave you the Torah I gave you the Zabur the Psalms of David and I gave you the Gospel of Jesus Christ it came from Allah it came from heaven three and of course we're not going to talk about the Koran for them they believe the Koran came so you will I will tell a Muslim do you believe in four holy books? yes four not five not two not one not seven four okay this is what the Koran says now what is the problem? since there are discrepancies between the Koran and the Bible the Muslims believe that the Bible was corrupted okay so obviously because they follow the Koran the Muslim says your Bible has been corrupted because you don't believe in Muhammad and you don't believe in A, B and C so your Bible is corrupted and changed you say Jesus is the Son of God the Koran doesn't say that you say Jesus died on the cross we don't believe in that you say you believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit the Koran doesn't say that so you must be wrong and we must be right the Koran must be right the Bible must be wrong they wrongly judge look at the sentence they wrongly judge the previous and older revelation by the newer revelation so the Koran comes which is the newest and then they judge the older by the newer rather than the newer judging it by the older okay so we have the Christians response okay so now we understand the problem we understand the mind of the Muslim what are they thinking and we understand some background what does the Koran say about the Gospel, the Torah and the Zab word it says it's from God no problems okay now let me also tell you something else nowhere in the Koran does it say only this portion of the Psalms or this portion of the Torah or this portion of the Gospel it just says the whole Gospel it doesn't and it doesn't explain because earlier a couple sessions back someone asked me about well wait a minute does it is it the whole Gospel and what does it does it break it down they don't talk about you know like we have the Gospel you know the Corinthians the epistles of Corinthians epistle to Ephesians 1st John 2nd John it doesn't talk about any specific things it just says the Gospel the Torah the Zab word okay but they believe it's been corrupted so number one since God has revealed to mankind four holy books from heaven not human but divine in origin and it's indicated in their Koran why would God allow sinful men to corrupt his word okay so these are some things these are what we're going to deal with here these are the questions that I will bring a Muslim to I just had this I just had this discussion Friday in Claremont in front of a mosque and we were there at one o'clock one thirty they came out and I was with a college student and we were talking for two and a half hours and I had another my mom was here with a lady they were talking for another hour I had another couple here they were talking with other people for another hour or two hours we were there all the way to like five o'clock in the afternoon and then they invited them into the mosque and they talked to the leaders and the leaders said oh I know Stephen I know that guy he's a troublemaker but they still want us to come back and they want to talk to us but I talked about this very thing and I took him through these steps I said do you believe the four holy books came from Allah yes so why would God allow sinful men to corrupt His word it's not man's word it's God's word is it not? they will say yes it is so you're saying Allah allowed men to corrupt His word next question does God love and honor His own word? yes they will say is God omnipotent? do you believe God is all powerful? yes do you believe that God is capable enough to preserve His word? yes all these answers they will answer yes to question can the Quran be corrupted? no well the Quran is the word of God yes was the Torah the word of God? yes so why can this be corrupted but this can't? leave the question with them right? okay Surah 85 verses 21 through 22 you can read that the Quran cannot be corrupted if not then why would He not preserve His previous holy books? so why would He not why would He allow the Torah, Zabur and the Angel to be corrupted and changed? but the last one? no He keeps it and preserves it why? does God discriminate between His own holy books and only choose to honor His final revelation? okay now look at what the Bible says so I will share with the Muslim the Bible says this in Psalm 12 Psalm 12 Psalm 12 this is in the Zabur and why do I why do I specifically using these verses? I specifically am giving you these verses because they're in different places so this is the Zabur from Psalms of David so King David says by the Holy Spirit says through King David Psalm 12 verses 6 through 7 the words of the Lord are pure words like silver tried in the furnace of earth purified seven times watch it verse 7 you shall keep them keep what? your word His word you shall keep them O Lord you shall preserve them from this generation for a hundred years for ten thousand years forever wow God's word says it it's in the Zabur did you know this? no I didn't know this look at what the prophet Isaiah says Isaiah 40 verses 6 through 8 Isaiah 40 verse 6 I'm going to move fast the voice said cry out and he said what shall I cry? all flesh is grass and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field the grass withers the flower fades because the breath of the Lord blows upon it surely the people are grass the grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever so my Muslim friend God spoke through the prophet David God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and he said the word of God stands forever okay this is what God's word says this is what my bible says and you believe in this and you say the gospel came from Allah well let's look at the gospel Matthew 5 Matthew 5 17 through 18 so I'm just what we're doing is you're showing the Muslim what the bible says at this point I don't I'm not arguing I'm just reading and presenting this is what the word of God says Jesus the words of Jesus Matthew 5 17 do not think that I came to destroy the law which is the Torah or the prophets all of the prophets of the Old Testament I did not come to destroy but to fulfill for assuredly I say to you till heaven and earth pass away one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled meaning everything in God's word will come to pass that he said nothing will be changed removed corrupted it's here and it's going to stand forever Matthew 24 verse 35 Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away okay so this is what God's word says it is immutable unchangeable now the Quran says in Surah 18 verse 27 there in your notes Surah 18 verse 27 and recite and teach what has been revealed to thee of the book of thy Lord none can change his words and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than him and I gave you some other references to look those up in the Quran later but look at what it says in their Quran it says none can change God's words and in my Bible it says no one can change the word of God it stands forever so next point since the Quran directs Muslims to go to the Bible remember what it said and to judge this is what the Surah said previously to judge by the light of what Allah hath revealed confirming that the Bible came before the Quran and it is God's standard by which to judge everything then we must conclude that the Quran is corrupted and possibly human in origin okay now why do we say this this is what's called the Islamic dilemma a dilemma means you're in trouble if you go this way and you're in trouble if you go that way so either I'm going to listen to the Quran or I'm going to listen to the Bible so this is what I tell my Muslim friend if I listen to the Quran and obey it your Quran tells me to judge the Quran by what was revealed before it in the Torah and the Gospel and when I do that it shows me that the Quran is false if I go to the Bible and obey the Bible the Bible tells me the Quran is false because you have a different God you have a different story you have a different complete idea of God there is no Jesus was crucified here he was not crucified so if I obey the Bible the Quran is false and if I go to the Quran the Quran is false so they have a dilemma are you following me? yeah, okay so the genuine versus the counterfeit and I shared this with my Muslim friend just this last week I said listen I said if I look at that if I look at this door and I say and you ask me how tall is that door? and I say oh it's about 7 foot 3 inches and you say no, it's 6 foot 9 inches who of us is right? okay both of us have an opinion it's not until you come and bring the measuring tape which is the standard that will tell us what is right okay the standard is the word of God you don't judge what came after you don't judge the older revelation by what came after it's the older that stands and the newer is telling us that this came after that this revelation which came before it was given by God so the newer has to match the older because the older is the standard this is the measuring tape I judge everything through the lens of the Bible okay but this is what they need to know so since this is a serious problem then it demands serious answers so we also have to ask a Muslim if you say the Bible has been changed tell me who did it okay if this happened it would obviously be there should be proof there should be evidence who did it there needs to be who you have to answer who when when did this happen okay is there a year is there a date and was the Bible corrupted before Muhammad or after Muhammad they cannot say before because the Quran tells them the Bible came from Allah and if they say after well they have another issue if the Bible was altered then it must have been done after the Quran was revealed and compiled how how was it done you have to ask a Muslim if you think the Bible was corrupted how was it changed listen it would have been virtually impossible for a person or persons to go throughout the known world remember this is 632 AD after the Quran was revealed approach everyone with a Bible or with the manuscripts of the Bible agree with them to surrender over their Bible or confiscate it then change all the Bibles and return them all to their owners and then we have to ask what was changed if a Muslim says well the Bible has been changed okay well tell me what portions what verses what words what stories because Muslims will also use the Bible to verify Muhammad but then you have to say well wait a minute when you're using the Bible the Bible has been changed so how can you use the Bible so they have a dilemma you see they have a dilemma and then lastly we have overwhelming manuscript evidence the Bible has the most manuscripts of any ancient literature and history we have manuscripts of the New Testament that predate 632 AD after the death of Muhammad that shows us that it conflicts and disagrees with the Quran so the things and the teachings of the Bible we have manuscripts that predate 632 AD so it's impossible for them to have this objection that the Bible has been changed or tampered with the word of God is immutable it does not change so they have a dilemma and they have to answer that so that's objection number one that a Muslim will bring to you a second objection and this is a big one is that of the son of God so every Muslim believes and will say that God does not have a son Jesus is not the son of God okay so here is the objection the Quran teaches that Allah is God alone he is the creator and originator of all things that exist he is eternal he is unique and the supreme one he is unlike humans in many areas one of which he has no parents nor does he have any children Allah neither was born nor does he procreate therefore for Christians to declare that Jesus is the son of God is blasphemous in the mind of Muslims and condemned strongly in the Quran Muslims understand as stated in the Quran that we believe that our God married had sexual intercourse with his wife and produced Jesus Christ in other words God's son so this is what is in the mind of every Muslim that you believe this that Allah has a wife had intercourse with her and produced Jesus and that's why we say he is the son of God okay now you understand what they are thinking in the mortgage yeah it's everything is on the natural they are thinking in the physical realm so let's look at some background the Quran strongly emphasizes the oneness of God and condemns the belief that Jesus is the son of God excuse me so look at Surah 112 verses 1-4 say he is Allah the one and only Allah the eternal absolute he begeteth not nor is he begotten and there is none like unto him now notice specifically how it says he is Allah the one and only the one because of the idea that Muslims had of Christians that we believe in the trinity thinking we believe in three Gods so they are in the Quran it's very much emphasized Allah is one and by himself he has no partners and we're going to talk about that next week about the trinity but you can understand now why Muslims believe that and think that okay because what I want you to do is now have an understanding that they are deceived but they are I have a compassion for them because they don't understand they don't get it because they've been blinded and there are also some other Surahs I gave you there as well so notice he begeteth not okay meaning he has no children nor is he begotten and he has no parents okay so I would tell a Muslim I believe the same thing we as Christians do not believe that God has parents or has any physical children because that's what the Quran is telling you I agree with you so now they will now you throw them off really okay yes but let's explain Surah 9 verse 30 look at what it says the Jews call Uzair a son of Allah and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah that is a saying from their mouth in this they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say Allah's curse be on them how they are deluded away from the truth so obviously in the mind of the Muslim and in the mind of the Quran it is thinking of a physical sonship a physical sonship which we do not believe now let's look at what is our response as a Christian now this was so good that I took this from this is the taken from Daniel messiah he may have been familiar with him he wrote a book it's from open the gates ministries he's down in San Diego and this was from an article that he wrote and this was really excellent so son of God son of God is a metaphor that describes a unique relationship between two aspects father and son of God's single essence okay now first of all do you know if you were to ask the average Christian can you explain to me how is Jesus the son of God a lot of Christians once again would not be able to explain what does that mean what does that mean because you know in the beginning I want to right away condemn the Muslim and think of course we don't believe that but what does it mean we say it and I grew up all my life and I believe it Jesus is the son of God it's all over the scriptures but what does that mean see we take it for granted but do we really understand this term and the origin and the meaning behind it and that we can explain to somebody this is not a physical son but a spiritual but what does that mean even when I say that spiritual sonship what does that mean okay well look at this couple of things the son of Egypt son of Egypt similarly means a man from Egypt not a man be gotten from the marriage of Turkey and Iran okay this is a term that is used throughout the Middle East if somebody says he is a son of Egypt they will understand and you can ask a Muslim if I say that this is a son of Egypt what do I mean ask them what do I mean by that a son of Egypt they're gonna say well you mean that he's from Egypt right he's a son of Egypt I'm a son of America you can say I'm I'm a son of Ontario it means I'm from Ontario my origin is from Ontario but see the Middle Eastern culture and the Jewish culture understood this but see we don't understand it in the West okay and there are other terms another example if a child is misbehaving an Arabic speaker may say you are a son of Satan a son of the devil okay so I'll ask my Muslim friend I'll say so when you say that your child is a son of the devil does that mean the devil has parents okay does it mean that the devil got married and had your son well no that's foolishness it's a metaphor okay you're saying your son is behaving like the devil and he is acting like the devil okay slowly you're going to start to put the picture together Jesus is the son of God he does the works of God he's behaving like God he is from God okay so this is understandable when you when you explain this just as I would say a son of Egypt next secondly the Quran itself uses metaphorical language for Jesus calling him a word from God okay Jesus in the Quran is called a word from God or the word of God Surah 3 verse 45 behold the angels said Oh Mary Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him his name will be Christ Jesus the son of Mary held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of the company of those nearest to Allah so when Jesus in the Quran is called a word what does that mean is he literally a word was he a word walking around a word okay no it's a metaphor it's a metaphor for who he was he was the living word of God God's expression on earth was Jesus okay just as in the Bible Jesus is called the word made flesh what is a word when I speak what is a word a word is an expression of my mind is an expression of my spirit that is how I can express myself is through my words so Jesus is the living expression of God the Father he is the living expression in the flesh but this is a metaphor I want you to look at a couple verses in the Bible now turning to the Bible in John chapter 8 turn there because we have to explain to our Muslim friends what this really means John chapter 8 verse 42 okay Jesus is having a discussion he's having a dialogue with the Jews and with the Pharisees and in verse 42 Jesus said to them if God were your Father you would love me for I proceeded forth and came from God that's very important notice what it says Jesus describes himself as proceeding forth okay when we speak words what is the word doing when I speak and when you speak it's proceeding from you Jesus proceeded see Jesus was not created this is a great this is a perfect description of Jesus he wasn't created he proceeded from God the Father he came forth from God and he said I came from God nor have I come of myself but he sent me why do you not understand my speech because you are not able to listen to my word notice what Jesus says verse 44 you are of your Father the devil Jesus said to the Pharisees you are of your Father the devil and the desires of your Father you want to do he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him when he speaks a lie he speaks from his own resources for he is a lie and the Father of it so this is very interesting Jesus said to the Pharisees you are of your Father the devil wait a minute is Jesus he just said that the Jews so then they are sons of the devil who is their Father so the Father must have a wife so who is the devil married to so now you're beginning to reason with the Muslim Jesus says it what does he mean does he really mean that they are the Father they are children of the devil he is speaking metaphorically okay he is saying that they are doing the acts of the devil and they are following the works and the beliefs and the doctrines of the devil and they are living by the power of the devil okay there is another verse that I want to show you give me a moment here oh yes John chapter 6 Jesus throughout the whole New Testament over and over again refers to God as his Father his Father and he has the Son but what we are trying to do we are explaining to the Muslim that this is a spiritual sonship and this is an explanation this is how Jesus described his relationship with God as God being his Father and him being the Son of God but look at as Jesus was speaking to his disciples in John chapter 6 and notice in verse we can jump back to verse 56 Jesus said he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him wow oh Jesus wait a minute you mean literally as the living Father sent me there he again he speaks of God as his Father and I live because of the Father so he who feeds on me will live because of me Jesus you're saying we're going to feed on you this is the bread which came down from heaven not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead he who eats this bread will live forever so you're saying I'm going to eat your flesh and drink your blood and if I eat the bread which came from heaven which is you I'm going to live forever these things he said in the synagogue as he taught in the Capernaum therefore many of his disciples God bless you many of his disciples when they heard this said this is a hard saying who can understand it when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained about this he said to them does this offend you wow does this offend you because he knew that they were saying this is hard to understand what you're saying what then if you should see the son of man ascend where he was before notice what he says it is the spirit who gives life the flesh profits nothing the words that I speak to you are spirits and they are life you see the words of Jesus they were spirits the meaning was spiritual it was not fleshly and the problem is when people understand Jesus from the point of flesh they're going to make an error they're going to mistake Jesus was speaking from the point of spiritual eat me drink from my blood meaning believe and follow me with all your life and with all your heart and when you follow me and obey my word you will have life okay just as when you eat and drink you consume it and it becomes one with you okay and so Jesus is speaking here using metaphor now back to our notes finishing off here thirdly concerning the son the son of God the Arabic language has two words for son there is even okay is spelled IBM in in English but it's the word even which can be used metaphorically okay and well Ed which is literal Jesus is a son in the even sense okay so when you talk to a Muslim you can tell them that there are two words for son in Arabic if you use the well Ed word that is a physical sonship but there is another word which is even just like the Hebrew where you have the word been okay because Hebrew and again in Arabic have very similarities you have like Ben her okay Ben this, Ben that, Ben in Hebrew also means son of so in Arabic even can carry the sense of metaphorical it is not physical and Jesus is even Allah if you want to say it in Arabic he is even Allah even Allah not willed Allah okay well Ed and the last thing to say here is the Quran affirms that God could have a son if desired this is interesting once again they probably don't know this in surah 39 verse 4 it says had Allah wish to take to himself a son he could have chosen whom he pleased out of those whom he doth create even though in surah 6 101 it appears contradictory so here in this first surah 39 4 it says if Allah wanted he could have a son he could have taken a son and called him a son but in surah 6 I'm going to read this to you it seems contradictory implying that it would be impossible for God to have a son in verse 101 it says the originator of the heavens and the earth how could he have a son when he has no consort he created everything and is aware of everything so one verse says if Allah wished to take to himself a son he could have but in surah 6 101 it says he wouldn't it says he does not have how could he have a son when he has no consort okay so the Quran says these things and the Muslim needs to understand that Jesus is the son of God in the spiritual sense and the son of just as when we say a son of Egypt means somebody who originates in Egypt so Jesus the son of God means that he originated from heaven he is God by nature his nature is divine and that's why he's called son of God and son of man because he's both God and man and so the term son of speaks of his origin and speaks of his nature that's what it means and it's not speaking of the physical okay so hopefully that helped you we went over two two of the main objections that Muslims bring and we'll finish next week with another four okay um briefly any questions on these things here that we we covered maybe five minutes real brief any questions yes I don't know if all of you heard her she said do we have to be knowledgeable about the Quran first of all um it helps if you are so basically I would say if you take this course just with these notes and the references of the surahs if you read those and you are familiar with them you are you are set you have enough in order to share and to evangelize and to have a dialogue with a Muslim because the majority of Christians do not know what is in here okay and even Muslims a lot of them don't know what's here but I would not say it's not necessary for you to sit down and read the Quran it's you can and it might be helpful but it's not necessary but if you know these verses and you know what the Quran teaches here you know what the Quran teaches there you know what it says about this these verses here that say Jesus doesn't have that God Allah doesn't have a son you know what the Muslim believes but you're able to have a dialogue with them yeah yes sure yes I don't say that yes I wouldn't answer like that so like I did yes so first of all this is why as a scripture as a scripture says we need to know how to give a defense of the faith with meekness and with fear so even though sometimes I may want to say something I have to hold back and that's why you have to reason with them so I will go over these questions basically what I gave you is really what I give them so I will many times say well who said that okay leave leave the burden of proof on them okay the burden of proof is not on you the word of God is unchanged so put the burden of proof on them who told you okay most of the time you will they will have to work through that who told you the Bible's changed well the Quran says where does the Quran say that this young man for two hours he could not tell me he didn't know the Surah in fact I will tell them in fact do you know the Quran says you are to go to the Gospel and to the Torah and to the Zabur because those confirm and if it's not in the Bible the Bible the Quran says you are to judge the Quran by the Bible did you know that so they will say no okay so you want to put the burden of proof on them but you want to go through these questions you know how why do you believe that the Bible has been changed do you believe God will allow his previous revelations to be corrupted but the Bible says no one can change God's word it says that he preserves it forever so see all of these things they don't know and once again no Christian ever tells them what the Bible says you see all they see is what's in the media all they see and what they've been told by their mosques and the imams they have been taught the Bible is corrupted you can throw it away the Bible cannot be trusted but the Quran doesn't even say that but like I said most Muslims do not read Arabic so they don't read the Quran they don't read the Quran they don't know the Quran they only come to mosque like many Christians come to church they come they listen and they go the whole week until the next Friday but they don't pick it up and read it